Learning to be a father of two boys. Learning that life isn't just about me. Learning that I'm 100% okay with that choice.

Learning that a lot of the pain I've experienced in my life was actually anxiety in disguise.

In many ways, 2016 was my former life’s demise. I discovered the practice of mindfulness. I learned I could not only see outward, but inward with my eyes. I learned that worry does not stop the bad things from happening.

2016 found my lowest of lows, and yet my highest of highs...

I leaned there was a way to tame the critic in my head. More importantly, I realized that we could be allies. We wrote of this very personal discovery in two thousand fifteen. About a condition I didn't even know I had... I can't be more excited to share CTRL+Z.

In 2016, for the first time in 8 years we signed with a label. A milestone. Together we learned we didn't have to explore this journey alone…

Most importantly, I learned If I open up, anyone, anything, including the people and things that drive us crazy, can be our headphones.

CTRL+Z

No matter how hard the past, we can always begin again. The fool who knows he is a fool is that much wiser in the end.

Albums:

1. Biffy Clyro - Ellipsis (something about this record reminded me of my youth. It felt fresh, yet familiar. Like a gentle reminder of the things we have to leave behind)

2. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Skeleton Tree (I haven’t heard a work of art like this in a very long time. As a father, Nick Cave’s pain and grief on this record is undeniably powerful)

3. Radiohead - A Moon Shaped Pool (It’s a new Radiohead record...)

4. Doombird - Past Lives (Coming from someone who has spent the last some odd years trying to outrun my past, Past Lives reached me on a level most records didn’t)

5. Band of Horses - Why Are You OK (BOH returned to the sound that made me fall in love with them. Much like My Morning Jacket’s “The Waterfall” last year, Why Are You OK was recorded at the same studio as CTRL+Z with our dear friend and producer, Robert Cheek. I feel incredibly connected to this album’s DNA)

Games:

1. Dead Rising 4 (I’m such a sucker for holiday themed games...)2. Uncharted 4 (A true milestone in game storytelling)3. Final Fantasy XV (The first FF game I’ve ever played for more than two hours...what was wrong with me?!)4. Batman Arkham VR (I am the Batman) 5. Far Cry Primal (I know I’m in the minority here, but it spoke to me)